


the soulmate theories (never prepared me for this)

by switmikan74



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Apocalypse, I don't know why I wrote this but please, M/M, Soulmates Phrases, first words last words, futuristic AU, kagehina soulmates, soulmate phrases on their skin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-13
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:28:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28050018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/switmikan74/pseuds/switmikan74
Summary: Kageyama hates counting days but he feels like his life finally moves when he met Hinata. Kiara Belsay's soulmates theory said that when you finally have that fateful encounter with your fateful person, your life drastically changes and it will never ever be the same anymore. And isn't it that what Kageyama wanted? His soulmate and a little change from this dreadfully boring abandoned world.
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio, Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi
Comments: 8
Kudos: 28





	the soulmate theories (never prepared me for this)

**Author's Note:**

> I love KageHina. Promise! 
> 
> Also, some people there are made up, so like don't look them up.

* * *

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_You’ll never know, dear_

_How much I love you_

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9 Days before departure

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The creation of the universe has been widely debated by the scientific field and the secular for centuries since the conception of formation has been first given thought. Its age varies depending on which side of the coin you would want to acknowledge.

Georges Lemaître first suggested in the 1920s that the universe came from a small singularity, a primordial atom that expanded over the span of billions and billions of years. It says that other galaxies are rapidly moving away from our own galaxy in all directions, causing cosmic microwave radiation that Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson interpreted during its first discovery in the 1960s as echoes from the big bang.

For the religious people, like the Roman Catholics, the universe was made within a week. The fundamental argument that dismisses the scientific theory is that God is an omnipotent being that can do whatever he pleases like creating the whole universe in seven days, plant false evidences to mislead humans, and that the fossils of dinosaurs are merely jokes that archeologists have not yet caught on.

In Buddhism, the idea of the formation of the universe does not depend on their gods as they do not have one to explain how this complex product of who knows what came to be. Instead, they spread their teachings on consequences.

You see, in this particular religion, it is more important to look at your actions and behaviors as these may affect things that haven’t happened yet. What is present now will be your past that trampolined you in the future you created in each lifetime you had and will possess.

As humans came and went with their intelligent premises and their religious faith, the earth continues to spin with time. Civilizations were built and ruined. Revolutions, of the war-kind and of the artful-kind, advanced and destroyed periods until they breach into another new path or another new world. Theories were written, debated, approved and, probably later, disproved.

In this world where wonders could, and will, happen, it is not much of a surprise that soulmates exist. We tend to come up with wonders and fantasies that just tickle our heart. But the thing is, the existence of a soulmate isn’t a mere fantasy anymore.

It happened in a blink of an eye. Or probably a silent biological evolution where the mind has transcended beyond the comprehension of science and faith. One of the two, perhaps.

The occurrence of soulmate marks started all over the world like a sudden plague that isn’t deadly, just confusing and rattling. The first generation marks never knew what to do with the words suddenly littering their skin.

It just seemed like a funny story to tell. Like _hey, one day, I wake up with asshole written on my wrist and at first I thought it was my brother playing prank and then I just—_

The first generation wasted their chance. They married whoever was convenient, realizing all too late what those words mean. But, hey, every first something has always been treated as guinea pigs. It was the second generation who discovered the truth behind the squiggles on their skin.

On their left wrist, the first statement their soulmate will say is visible to anyone. On their right, the last one they will hear from them, the one they can only see.

Kageyama, as a twentieth generation who does not need to think more of the mystery of the marks, looks at his own wrists and frowns.

_It was really nice meeting you. Shut up—Shut up—Shut up!_

Great encounter, probably. The problem was _nice to meet you_ is on his right wrist. Isn’t that problematic? Will he meet his soulmate after doing something thoughtless and after being introduced, will that person be ripped right out of his arms as soon as he has come to love them?

Because Kageyama is an emotionally constipated person but he swears that he will love his soulmate the way they should be loved—and he will love them as soon as they exchange their first words to each other. He swears it on the moons of Jupiter.

 _But_ , what is this then?

“Stop staring at your wrist and pack already, Tobio.”

Kageyama turns to see his sister leaning on the doorframe with her arms crossed, her lips thinning into a frown as if to emphasize her impatience with him. He looks around his room and sees the mountains of clothes spread on his floor and on his bed and _oh, right_ , he was packing so they could leave this godforsaken planet.

In the year 3109, contrary to the popular song of a 21st century boyband, humans do not live underwater. The oceans remained vast and mostly undiscovered. And _dry_ on some parts. Tumultuous on the other. Having gone since the cradle of civilization until the precipice of scientific advancement without diving deep into the swirling pool of mystery just off their coast, humans remain blissfully ignorant of the life it once held.

Instead, they look upward. Humanity chose to explore the vast vacuum above. Peter Bianchi, the first trillioner of the year 2721, dreamt of visiting other galaxies so he decided to fund space explorations until they discover that Earth does not hold the only civilizations in the universe.

Thanks to him, we know that there are fifty-six civilizations in our galaxy, forty of which has already visited Earth and decided that it’s too barbaric so they cut off communication; so it is probably safe to say that Area 51 (the one that the American government destroyed vehemently and left not a sliver of trace of its existence) is probably a disco bar for visiting otherworldly lifeforms.

The Bianchi family did not stop with their exploration. They advocated easier life outside of Earth. One planet has a vast amount of diamonds that it is practically useless to them—people can visit it and return.

So, they uproot their lives and one by one, they disappear into space without so much as a backward glance, and they never come back. As the population dwindles, so does nature. The raw materials were shipped out and used to build vessels to traverse the universe until almost all the trees were cut, the minerals were harvested, the ocean’s water was depleted.

By 3100, only a handful of hundreds remain. Their family are ones of the last to finally follow their fellow humans. They don’t want to stay anymore, especially that the last engineers of the world are creating the last vessel to get out of this planet, taking with them the knowledge of flying beyond the sky and into the mouth of the universe.

Nobody wants to be stuck anymore in this abandoned place they used to call their motherland.

“Can you go to Pod 37? They said they’re going to pay the sugarcane they borrowed last month. Collect it and make sure that they also pay the interest.” Miwa commands as she shoves his white hazmat suit on him. She wears her own and leaves, probably to Pod 19. Miwa can deny it all she wants but her crush on the blond woman there is blatantly obvious that even he, someone people would often call dense, noticed.

“Pod 37. Okay.” Kageyama belatedly replies, checking himself on the broken mirror by the door. He goes to the old worn pod ten pods away from them. He waves a hand on the door monitor and hears the ringing inside.

There was no one who opened for him. Frowning, he waves again. And again. And again. Until a flurry of white pillow collides on his face from the pod and he stumbles on his back at the force.

“Shut up. Shut up. Shut up!” A high pitch yell pierces his ears. Odd. Don’t old men have deeper voices? First thought. His brain is still processing. Not every human was born with high cognitive function. So, when it clicks, it falls to pieces much louder and rougher than it should have.

Kageyama scrambles to his feet, pushes the leaning teen into the pad, and pins him on the wall. The smaller teen struggles and thrashes—as he should. Although it’s the future, people still succumb to ill intentions and he doesn’t want to die in this world.

“Let me go!”

“Let me see your wrist.”

The struggle quietens immediately. The annoyance and fear in the amber eyes behind the hazmat suit flushes down and a curious and cheery gleam take their place.

“You’re my soulmate, aren’t you? Aren’t you?”

In one of the famous soulmate theories, soulmates are the result of atoms existing closely together when the universe was first created. These atoms that drifted apart will someday reunite as they are always drawn together. The force is named Poet Effect—a scientifically explained emptiness and yearning that only quells when you meet your designated soulmate. (But of course, not everyone feels this force as not everyone feels something towards a living organism such as a human)

Kageyama was never one for emotions. Or that’s what people who don’t know him would tell you. He’s a normal growing boy. He knows emotions and how they work. The problem is his expression. He keeps and keeps most things bottled up in his chest, stocked at the very back of his mind, and fuels his tall body with spite, boredom, and anger or nothing at all—until he explodes and implodes both at the same time. Two of the extremes because he doesn’t know how to channel emotions properly. Nobody ever taught him.

So, he explodes and implodes and does the extreme of letting out and crumbling in. Because, alas, after fifteen years of his whatever life, here is his long awaited soulmate.

He probably has the ugliest expression on his face. The stranger laughs at him but he couldn’t be even mad—and he is at least thirty percent mad all the time. Teenage angst, amirite?

“Your face looks funny!” He doubles on his knees. Kageyama scrunches and frowns and kicks him swiftly until he slips. Payback, he sneers, “I was born with this face.”

His soulmate retaliated quickly with a jab that made him crumble to the ground. He is strong and doesn’t back down. Kageyama lets out a chuckle that makes his soulmate tremble in fear (or elation or nervousness, Kageyama can’t tell).

“I’m Kageyama Tobio.” He finally says. Kageyama hears the sound of zipper and before he can glance towards the source, he is suddenly faceful of sunshine and sunflowers and amber eyes and—

“Hinata Shoyo, at your service!”

George Lemaître said that the universe was created from a singular atom that exploded millions years ago. But what if he was wrong? What if that universe is a short ginger with the most beautiful eyes? What if the universe is in front of him?

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8 Days Before Departure

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Sugarcane is expensive. Kageyama knows. It’s a luxury in this wretched world. But Miwa should have been gladder for him. He met his soulmate. Why should he still care about sugarcanes? Or that they had been scammed by the old man who once lived in Pod 37?

He says this to Hinata, who makes do with what little he has in this abandoned pod. Hinata offers him a cup of water and listens attentively, making agreeing noise with his conviction.

“I don’t know about who previously lived here.” Hinata replies when he asks if he knows of Gramps Ukai. The pod was left unattended when he stumbled upon it weeks ago and beggars can’t be choosers so he ransacked the place and decided it will be his new home after three days of waiting for the owner to come back and beg for forgiveness when his conscience hits him.

Hinata is from District 36. Quite a peculiar thing to know since that district has been abandoned by the fifty populace six months ago. Forty-nine occupants, to be exact. Hinata, the fiftieth occupant, explains, “It’s either me or my mother who gets left behind. Being a filial son, I told her to raise Natsu and that I will find a way to meet them in Great Kepler.”

The planet is, as was discovered millennia ago as Kepler-452b, a perfect replica of Earth with much bigger and larger repertoire of raw resources and was supposedly unoccupied—so humans called _dibs_ and conquered the land as they once conquered their own.

“It’s a good thing you had gotten here before we depart.” Kageyama means it. Hinata is his soulmate (and he’ll probably never get tired of claiming it) so it is not farfetched to say something so flippantly honest that it makes both their heart skip a beat. Hinata turns away to hide his reddening face, pretends to be busy with the non-existent dishes on the decorative sink, and admits, “Yeah. Yeah, I’m glad I got here too.”

They didn’t get to talk much yesterday because Miwa called Kageyama through his hologram pager to return immediately. Hinata has pushed him out with a promise of seeing him tomorrow again. That pacifies him, at least.

Today, the two will try to overcome the awkward wall of getting to know one another. Soulmates or not, they are still strangers and their marks are nothing but signs and feelings but not information.

Hinata starts with basic questions. Kageyama answers them easily enough. What color do you like? Blue. What is your favorite food? Pork curry with an egg on top— _an indulgence_ , Hinata gasps, _mine is Tamago, you probably don’t know it, Mom’s the only one capable of making one in District 36_. Age? 15 years old. Birthday? December 22— _oh, I’m older than you, Kageyama, I was born in June—June 21_. Any siblings other than Miwa? No. Parents? Dead— _I’m sorry for your loss_.

What is your dream?

Kageyama has to pause. Dream? There are a lot of things to consider as a luxury since Science reached its precipice. Dreaming is one of them. Logical people—and you know how the world has advanced with the help of Science so people have to be logical and stiff—said that dreaming is for fools. What you need is a goal to attain. Dreams are surreal, intangible illusions. Goals are for people who want to live.

He doesn’t know what nostalgia is because he was raised without dreams. Only blackness, only metal scrapes, only the goal of flying out beyond the sky. But he thinks that it’s the most fitting feeling to feel.

“I…” _can’t think of anything, don’t know what to say, haven’t been given the leeway to dream that I’m surprised you even know the word still, what about you?,_ Kageyama looks constipated at his train of thought but eventually he utters, “…don’t have one.”

Hinata’s face falls like a soaring kite Kageyama once seen in a documentary before dropping abruptly. Kageyama winces at the expression and he can’t help the disappointment that plagues his system, all prickly and venomous, and maybe he should have just lied. How hard dreaming can be? Fool. Stupid. He wants to hit himself in the head. He wants to take his words back. He wants to—

“I want to taste stardust. Swim in the Milky Way.” Hinata stretches his arms above, if it weren’t for the dreary white ceiling of the pod, he would have been pointing at the starry afternoon sky. Hinata moves as if he is dancing, smiling on his tiptoes as he twirls, “I dream of tasting every Tamago on every planet. To dance on Saturn’s ring. I dream of singing a song that everyone will listen to. I dreamt of meeting you.”

 _Oh_ , Kageyama stands, entwines their hands together, and dances to the humming of machines that kept them both alive, _it’s outrageously unrealistic but one of them came true._

“Then, I guess, I was dreaming of meeting you too.”

Hinata giggles as he is dipped, lightly poking Kageyama’s nose, “You have to dream again because that already happened.”

In the corner, the box-size apparatus whirs shakily before letting out a hiss of oxygen gas. The old clock on the wall blinks blue then green then it turns to 4:33PM. Kageyama’s pager rings with Miwa’s set tone but they both ignore everything. If they were absolutely quiet, they could almost hear each other’s heartbeats.

“…with you…” Kageyama breaks the silence and Hinata is almost disappointed because he almost has an inkling on the sound that Kageyama’s heart makes—ba-dump, a-thump, ba-dump. Hinata tilts his head to capture his soulmate’s gaze, “What?”

“Whatever you dream of,” Kageyama repeats, a blush on his cheeks, his eyes narrowing frighteningly that Hinata almost yelps, “I would like to dream it as well. Because I want to be with you.”

Hinata’s cheeks felt hot. He clambers to stand on his two feet to avoid Kageyama’s honest gaze. _It’s unfair_ , Hinata thinks as his heart goes ba-dump a little faster than normal, _it’s unfair to be this smooth._

“Fine!” Hinata shouts, almost begrudgingly, elated and embarrassed all the same, “I’ll grow old with you. Let’s dream about that.”

Kageyama smiles. Or smirks. Or grins. Hinata does not know. Kageyama’s lips twitch upward in the ghost of an unpracticed beam—Hinata decides to teach him how to grin, it’s the least he can do as his soulmate.

Hinata raises a pinky.

“What the hell is that?”

“For promises. You didn’t know?”

Kageyama does not answer.

“Here. Let me show you.” Hinata takes Kageyama’s pinky and hooks it with his, “Pinky promise, hope to die. Swallow a thousand needles if you lie.”

“Okay.” Kageyama nods solemnly, “If I break our promise, I will swallow needles.”

Hinata chuckles behind his other hand, “Silly. That’s just children chanting from long ago. You don’t need to.”

“No.” This is his first promise, Kageyama will see to it that he will, “I am not worried at all.”

“You’re so serious, Firmyama.” Despite his words, Hinata smiles the brightest and it pulls Kageyama in. He’s right. Hinata is a sun incarnate, probably the heart of the universe, walking on two feet in a dreadful land.

_Screeeeee—!_

Kageyama jumps at the persistent tone and gulps when an angry voice powers through the pager. Hinata levels him a face full of pity. He pulls the smaller teen in for the last embrace of the afternoon.

“I’ll see you tomorrow.” He promises. Kageyama doesn’t need to swallow needles for that because tomorrow morning at exactly 10:00 when his chores are done, he’ll be here again.

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7 Days Before Departure

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“Look! Look what I found!”

Hinata thrusts a chip on his hand. The chip is plated silver and is barely bigger than his fingernails. Kageyama flips it, a small white inscription is plastered on the black border. _Year 2018, Volleyball Match._

“Volleyball? What’s that?”

Hinata retrieves it, shuffles towards the projector, and as soon as he inserts the chip, the pod darkens and pixels float to the air until they draw moving pictures of Japanese players on a large stadium, playing with a ball of blue and yellow in the effort of defying gravity.

The video enraptured him. He feels the goosebumps on his arms, the hair on his neck stand, his heart rate increases in suspense. Kageyama staggers until he is sitting, Hinata by his side.

“Amazing.”

“Right?” Hinata sighs in a way that lovers do, a mix of longing and fondness, the thought of _I was born in the wrong age_ so easily released from the confines of his mind. Kageyama agrees.

Volleyball no longer exists in their current era. Neither do football, basketball, nor cricket. Ordinary sports that are so earthly were thrown away and forgotten. Most things are about spaces nowadays.

Kageyama grew up watching Space Race that was projected light years away. The rich and the lucky get front seats for this interracial galactic sport while the poor and the unlucky get to see the event months after they were conducted.

The ball whooshes through the air. Kageyama held his breath as No. 16 shouts ‘one touch!’ with all his might and everyone tenses as the score ties with the setter’s unexpected dump. The crowd cheers for the white uniformed players with their pompoms and yells that Kageyama shudders in his seat in the same rushing feeling of excitement.

 _“This is for last time.”_ The setter smirks at his opponent at the other side. They hear a series of groans before a bright ‘bring it on’ cuts through the tension. The smirk on the setter noticeably grows bigger even when he turns his back at No. 21 who calls out his name in an almost whining tone.

The projection flickers unstably. It flickers once, twice, then everything goes white. Hinata huffs, “I couldn’t find the rest of the documentary but I think the guys in the black uniforms won.”

Kageyama scrunches his nose in disagreement, “No. It’s the people in the white uniform. Did you even watch it properly?”

“I did! Didn’t you see how it was the guys in white that were trying to catch up?”

“Precisely. They caught up.”

The two stares heatedly. Before Kageyama could even make more noise, Hinata pressed the projector and the same video flickered to life. They spent the day arguing and analyzing the players and the game until they felt like they were playing the match themselves. Kageyama is adamant about the Adlers’ win while Hinata thinks it’s the Jackals that did.

When Kageyama got back to his room, he searched through his computer of the history of volleyball and 2018 matches, relentless with his gut that his team won. With a click of his finger, he is brought to the 2018 Volleyball League. He downloads all the videos and plans to watch it all with Hinata the next day.

(It turns out EJP Raijin won the League by two points against Adlers.)

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6 Days Before Departure

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“Hey, you can call me Tobio, you know. So can I call you Shoyo?”

Hinata pauses, turns to him with a smile before saying, “Nah. Not yet. We’re not pass surnames yet, you know.”

Kageyama crinkles his face into a frown but Hinata only laughs.

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5 Days Before Departure

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“Do you think they’re not going to be mad?”

For the first time since living in Pod 37, Hinata sees District 41 in broad daylight. He can never be too careful. Hinata had seen kind faces morphing to cruel ones once they grasp his disadvantaged situation. It’s a wonder that humans come far even with such greed and such aloofness. So, Hinata hides away like a frightened child in an abandoned pod and hopes for the best.

It was Kageyama who suggested going out for a bit.

“Not really. People don’t care enough to know their neighbors here.”

Three pods down their own, Kageyama opens another empty pod. This used to belong to a middle aged woman who died before she can have the chance of leaving everything behind. Now, it’s a playground for misfits and misbehaving children like him.

“Ah.” Kageyama frowns at the familiar voice, turns to the source and sees Tsukishima and Yamaguchi, the two seemingly searching for something at the far left of the quarter. Yamaguchi waves politely but brings his hand down when he feels a tug from Tsukishima.

“What are you doing here, Kageyama?” Tsukishima sneers so Kageyama sneers back, “That should be my question. I don’t think you of all people would be here, Tsukishima.”

“We’re searching for a book.” Yamaguchi intervenes before the situation escalates. Knowing the two since childhood, anything could happen drastically. Yamaguchi tilts his head when he notices Hinata hanging behind Kageyama, “Who’s that?”

Kageyama puffs his chest in pride. “This,” He says as he sidesteps and presents Hinata like he is presenting a medallion, “is my soulmate.”

“Congratulations!” Yamaguchi nudges Tsukishima, who sighs and rolls his eyes and halfheartedly mutters his felicitation. Before anyone can mistake him for being kind, Tsukishima smirks condescendingly, “Finally, huh. I was beginning to think you don’t have one since you’re such a freak.”

“Hey! That’s not nice!” Hinata shoves a finger against Tsukishima’s chest. In spite of their height differences, Hinata does not waver from Tsukishima’s glare. The taller teen dusts himself as if he is disgusted.

Kageyama pulls Hinata in a delicate embrace, protective and warm. He levels a glare at the two and says, “Fuck you.”

Fifteen years is a long time coming but he waited and waited. Kageyama won’t let anyone take the joy of his ‘finally moment’ from him. Especially not Tsukishima.

“Tsukki.”

Tsukishima looks away from the reprimanding tone of his soulmate. Yamaguchi turns to the two and apologizes in his stead, “I’m sorry for his behavior. He’s being extra grouchy because Akiteru accidentally shredded The Little Prince that his dad gave to him.”

“Well, it doesn’t give him the right to be such an asshole.” Hinata huffs, sticks his tongue at Tsukishima, whose eyebrow twitches in irritation. In retaliation, Tsukishima tugs at Yamaguchi and loudly whispers, “Stop talking to them. You’re going to waste your brain cells, Tadashi.”

That’s how they find themselves in a pod with an indifferent salty male and a calm freckled teen. Hinata wanders deeper into the quarter and finds a crystal ball. The inside keeps pouring snow down the gingerbread house it contains, when he shakes it a little song produces and it goes _let it snow, let it snow, let it snow_.

“Mrs. Yamato is like Gramps Ukai. They save a lot of old stuff from centuries ago. They call themselves vintage collectors.”

“It’s nice.” Hinata means it because he is a sentimental person, always has been. He puts the crystal ball down and browses for more when suddenly, he hears a low baritone of _please don’t take my sunshine away—I’ll always love you and make you happy—_

Kageyama is humming the song under his breath when he faces him. Hinata smiles widely, “You have an amazing voice.”

“Really?”

“Really! Let me hear it more!”

— _you are my sunshine, my only sunshine,_ sings Kageyama in his nice deep voice. Hinata opens his arms for Kageyama to enter. The song draws to a close and they sway to another song— _take my hand, take my whole life too—_ Kageyama singing the words to Hinata’s ears softly, gently, promisingly.

“Ugh, lovers.”

“Tsukki!”

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4 Days Before Departure

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Famous theorist Arthur K. Jones once said that attraction between soulmates happens randomly. It does not occur at first sight but there is a time in between their companionship when something undeniably shifted.

They will feel warm and tingly, even the steadiest and most serious person will loosen and fumble their ways through the transition. They will feel it slowly and then suddenly, all at once, altogether, it would feel suffocating and liberating at the same time.

Kageyama experiences the transition four days into knowing each other. There is nothing special about it. They are sitting by the last tree in their district, hazmat suit on, and gazing at the methodically lined pods six meters away from them. Hinata is describing his sister and his mother and how they both got their red hair from their father.

Out of the blue, Kageyama just thinks _he is the most beautiful boy in the world_.

He thought of it the first time four days ago and he thought of it every night when he sleeps, but somewhere in the middle between his exhilaration of finally finding a soulmate and promising himself to treasure him, the delight changes into a softer version of appreciation—warm and lovely and painful in his chest, a clogging sort of filling to the brim until he is wheezing and clawing at his own skin, wanting and wanting and feeling them all at once.

“Can I kiss you?” He never did have any shame in his body. Not for the things he desires. Hinata pauses, winded by the query. He twists his torso just to stare at the seriousness that plagued behind protective gear and Kageyama almost, almost backtracks.

But Hinata is unpredictable. And awfully kind. Kageyama smiles at the loud smooching sound and the noise of glasses smacking together. Their first kiss is awful—Kageyama couldn’t ask for more.

Later, when they’re both out of their hazmat suit and in Pod 37, when the clock blinks 6:07PM and the machines hum to life, Hinata pulls him to his height and kisses him between his eyebrows, on his nose, on the apple of his cheeks, on both his lids and finally, finally on his lips.

 _Ah,_ Kageyama ponders as he kisses back, _maybe I’ll ask for this instead._

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3 Days Before Departure

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One step forward with the left foot. Count one. Follow the left foot with your right in a quick _uh_ count. Then shift weight to the left. Count two. Step backward with the right foot followed by the left in quick succession.

“Pfft—!” A hearty laughter pierces through the debonair music as Kageyama stumbles down to his side. Hinata points shamelessly at Kageyama, doubling on his knees. In the left corner of Pod 17, Tsukishima and Yamaguchi laugh loudly as well—a ‘ _what the hell is that, Kageyama?’_ from the blond rings in the air, adding to Kageyama’s ire.

“I told you I am not good with whatever this is.” Kageyama pushes Hinata’s hand away, sulking. Hinata pacifies the teen by squatting down and patting his hair, “Come on, Kageyama. I thought you’re doing fine. It just took me by surprise because you’re suddenly on the floor when we were about to spin.”

“This mamba is hard.”

Hinata chuckles, “It’s Samba. S-a-m-b-a. It’s a dance from a country called Brazil.”

Hinata has found a chip again in one of the many boxes piled up in his pod. He wanted to watch find other clips, documentaries of a world they were deprived of—where they can walk freely without needing protective gear, where oceans were full and forests were plentiful, where cultures beautifully vary—and that’s when he finds a dance video, not some robotic techno crap from the 2700s but a passionate flurry of steps that beguiled him.

The music starts once more. Hinata offers his hand to Kageyama again and this time, the raven takes it.

One step forward with the left foot. Count one. Follow the left foot with your right in a quick _uh_ count. Then shift weight to the left. Count two. Step backward with the right foot followed by the left in quick succession. Shift weight to the right. Count 4. Sway from one spot to the next in a smooth glide—spins and then—

There’s no thought that crosses in Hinata’s mind. He drew blank. Whatever romantic phrases that lovers sing in the moment that they discover what love is, he has none. Instead, he sees Kageyama’s eyes twinkle, his lips bowed up into the tiniest bit of a smirk. Instead, he hears Kageyama’s pulse under his wrist, his breath coming in short puffs. Instead, he feels his skin tightens under his weight, his fingers gripping his small waist. Instead, he is aware of everything that is Kageyama and everything that he’ll ever be—in this world or in space, in Saturn’s rings or in Great Kepler.

Unlike Kageyama, who nearly suffocated from the weight of his feelings, he feels nothing short of freedom, like he is tasting the sky for the first time, like he breaks through the surface and finally he can breathe.

— _dips._

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2 Days Before Departure

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“Isn’t Peter Pan a good book, Kageyama?”

Hinata holds a book with a cover of a boy in green clothes flying through the sky. Kageyama shrugs, “I think. I don’t read much so I don’t know.”

“What? You never read Peter Pan?”

Hinata thinks it is imperative to know the story. It’s a tale that he long memorized as he constantly tells it to Natsu so she can sleep peacefully. To know that his soulmate hasn’t read it yet, Hinata is half devastated and half thrilled. It means he can relay the beautiful tale of a boy who never grew up and a girl who did.

The story starts like old aged books do. _Once upon a time, in old London, three Darling children went to bed._ Hinata’s voice is hushed and full of life as he takes Kageyama’s hand in his and delves into Neverland.

“Do you like romance with sad endings?”

“What? No.”

Nobody likes sad endings, after all. It just doesn’t fit well in this kind of world where one can’t even deny the miserable outcome of their ancestor’s decisions that push them to this topsy-turvy existence. Who would like tragedy when they are living in one already?

“Peter Pan isn’t tragic.” Hinata defends, “Wendy Darling chose well. It’s a happy ending for both of them.”

But Peter Pan never grew up. Year after year, he visited the Darlings until one day, darling little Wendy isn’t so little nor a Darling anymore. She had moved with the world, got swept up by time, loved and grieved and grew. And Peter Pan? Peter Pan goes back to Neverland by his lonesome self and probably regrets letting his darling Wendy go—is what Kageyama thinks.

Because between immortality and the one he loves, he will choose the latter a million times. He’s not as foolish as Peter Pan. He will never choose to let Hinata go. Not for a millisecond of his life.

“I don’t like Peter Pan.” Kageyama says, “He’s a selfish brat.”

“He is, huh?”

Hinata puts down the book beside him and rummages the boxes left strewn, only stopping when he gets a book with a wooden doll on it.

“How about Pinocchio?”

Kageyama scrunches his nose at the middle of the story. Hinata notices it and asks, “What’s wrong?”

“I hate liars.”

“It’s a good thing that I’m not one then.”

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42 Days Before District 41

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_“Don’t worry, Mom. I will be sure to follow you. Pinky promise!”_

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1 Day Before Departure

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“Why’d you go here?”

Hinata does not need to turn to see who found him sitting by the tree. The voice is familiar. It’s the ones that whispered words the last few days as if the world will rip them apart if he even speaks a little bit louder than what he is used to. Hinata hopes that he will keep hearing his voice—in a whisper or a yell or in his normal way of doing so, forever and ever.

“Why do you have that kind of expression?”

Hinata does not know what he is wearing. It must be wretched for Kageyama to stagger, pause, and for his expression to fall flat. He scrambles to rearrange himself. Smile. That’s what he is good at, right?

“I… I’m sorry.” Hinata apologizes just like he did back before. Five Pods of cruel people before District 41—three friends in District 39 wanting him to ask for forgiveness for something he did not do—one redheaded father with the words of saltwater, his face carved so perfectly alike that when his mother looks at him, he expresses sorry for his existence or distort his image with a grin.

“Don’t be.” Kageyama does not ask. Not because he is not interested, not because it’s none of his business, but because he hates every single second seeing Hinata with _that_ expression. If he can just wash it away or bury it somewhere with a simple ‘don’t be’ then it’s alright not knowing things.

“Must we go to space?” Hinata breathes finally and all his words fall from before, his dreams, his hopes, all of them blurs in his frustration, “Earth has been good to us. Why should we abandon it?”

Fading footsteps and back turned. His poor crying mother on the floor, him wishing it was all just a dream. Maybe, soulmates weren’t what they all seem. Or maybe, his mother lied—fell in love with someone else’s and coveted their father, impatient for not finding her soulmate so she had stolen someone else’s, and lied to their faces. Why would their father disappear from their life then?

Kageyama is unable to answer. Perhaps, he doesn’t want to. He doesn’t have to. His arms around him is the answer Hinata just needs to feel.

“I’m not going to abandon you.”

There are many soulmate theories that were developed in the world. Edward Langton’s is Kageyama’s favorite because he was the only one who dabbled with soulmate and their emotional states.

People will call it empathy. Some will call it telepathy. Kageyama likes to imagine it, because he does not have anything to do with his life back then but waits for his soulmate to appear, as connection.

So, when Hinata gave him the most wretched look he has ever seen him wear, Kageyama understands, surprisingly and unsurprisingly, that his soulmate is hurting behind his phrases and his grins—his fear of abandonment clear as day.

“Why?” Hinata muffles against his chest. He readies himself, braces himself from the inevitable ‘because you’re my soulmate’ answer, and hates himself for being so spiteful when he should be grateful. At least, he found his, right?

“What do you mean why? Are you stupid? It’s because I love you, what else?”

Oh. Oh. _Oh._

Hinata breaks. For all the good reasons, it seems.

When his crying stops and they find themselves back in Pod 37, Hinata decides that he’ll be Kageyama’s forever. So Hinata kisses Kageyama on his forehead, on his lids, on the apple of his cheeks, and finally on his lips. Once. Twice. Thrice. A hundred more times.

They lost themselves on their constant exchange of ‘I love you’, breathing the confession on every inch of their skin until dawn breaks and they actually ended up thinking that they’re the only people left in the world.

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4 Hours Before Departure

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Kageyama can get used to waking up to this—Hinata beside him, lashes fluttering in an attempt to stay asleep, his arms around the redhead’s body, skin to skin, warm and right.

“Good morning.” He whispers as he kisses Hinata’s crown. Hinata smiles in his sleep, nuzzling closer.

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40 Minutes Before Departure

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“Did you pack everything you need, Tobio?” Miwa sweeps her eyes around Kageyama’s room. The area has been cleaned as best as Kageyama did within the short hours he has. She finds it strange for Kageyama to smile so much even as he folds and throws trash but if it gets him to do things, she does not prod.

“Yes.” Kageyama adjusts the dimension pouch that contains all his belongings around his waist. He checks and rechecks his pager, the time rolling into 11:22AM.

“Where are you going?” Miwa asks rhetorically because she already knows.

“To Hinata.”

Miwa stares at her baby brother, all awkward grins and jittery energy like he wants to be anywhere but here—which is true for the last eight days, anyway.

She lets him go. “Fine. Be quick.”

“Don’t wait for me, Miwa. I’ll go with Hinata.”

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5 Minutes Before Departure

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“Are you ready?” Hinata opens his palm. Kageyama takes it and brings it close to his lips, “Of course.”

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3

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The spacecraft lifts, gears for a long jump, and blasts upward.

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2

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Kageyama holds Hinata tighter as the gravitational force gets persistent before finally letting go.

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1

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The crib is small but it contains all the essentials. A black linen cloth on each of their bed with an emblazoned number that indicates their headcount. They were segregated with their soulmates. Those without are forced to bunk together randomly. Kageyama changes into his while Hinata organizes their stuff in the small white drawer beside their bed.

A small beeping above their head sounded before it projected a kind-faced middle aged man. He smiles and announces the basic rules and regulations before telling them all to gather in the mess hall for the reassessment of their data regarding every occupant of the spacecraft.

The mess hall is large with people milling about, talking happily amongst each other. There is a wide holographic screen in the middle where the same rules and regulations were flashed. After the recap, the same man appears again. He tells them to enjoy their travel and disappears as the outside is projected for all to see, a deep droning voice gives a clear description of everything they pass by.

“Uwaaah! Look! Look, Kageyama!”

The Earth starts to drift away as they pass their only moon. Hinata presses his face on the glass window. Yamaguchi does the same beside him. The outside is pitch black with occasional comets travelling by, the sun a yellow ball of heat far away. They get chastised to stay put as they near Mars, the mess hall dims. And as if it’s a silent command, the hall quietens.

The spacecraft smoothly ventures through the passing planetoids, carefully avoiding collision. They are slowly entering the Main Asteroid Belt. Kageyama cradles Hinata’s head on his shoulder as he leans his own head on the ginger. Closing his eyes, he drifts off, Hinata’s soft humming lulling him faster.

Kageyama jolts at the sudden tremor, the loud yells of children, and the whispers of adults, his heart beating too fast, alert and anxious.

The middle flashes the captain’s face, “Do not fret, everyone. We just had a minor bump with a planetoid in the Main Asteroid Belt. But it is not something to be concerned about. For now, we are requesting for you all to retire to your designated crib. We will be changing into light years travel once we pass Uranus.”

“That was quite a scare, huh, Kageyama?” Hinata looks anything but, bouncing on the ball of his feet. Kageyama nods at him, disoriented from being woken up so suddenly. Hinata notices this. He puts an arm around him and guides him silently to their quarters.

Kageyama mumbles incoherently as he is pushed on the bottom bunk. Hinata laughs, “In a language I know, Yamayama.”

“…go…”

“Huh?”

“If something happens,” Kageyama repeats sleepily, “don’t let go of me.”

He doesn’t hear it clearly but he thinks Hinata answers, “Of course, I won’t.”

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_When I awoke, dear,_

_I was mistaken._

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_Beep. Beep. Beeeeeep!_

Kageyama stumbles down unto the floor at the blaring shriek. Their necessities on the drawer tumbles down as well as the craft continue to stir precariously. He immediately looks at Hinata who clang to a pillow stubbornly.

“Hinata! Hinata!” Kageyama tugs on his sleeves. Hinata awakens at the forceful pull that drags him from their shared bed. Feeling the same shaking of the vessel, Hinata wobbly stands, “What? What’s happening?”

As if to answer them, the overhead holographic projector whooshes to life, a tightly frowning captain announces, “Please gather in the mess hall! We already contacted the nearest spacecraft and they will be here in thirty minutes. Bring only what is necessary. Don’t stray away.”

The captain’s voice does not betray him. Professionalism buries the deep-seated urgency of the situation. Perhaps, it was to calm the panic. But Kageyama is anything but calm, having grasped the situation. He grabs Hinata. _Only the necessary,_ Kageyama thinks, _only the necessary._

The hallway is crowded and a mess. There are children crying as they call for their mother. A pair of old men crouch in the corner in fear as others rush in and out, shoving and shouting at the top of their lungs. One officer tries to pacify the situation with assurances but she is ignored amidst the chaos.

Kageyama sees Tsukishima holding Yamaguchi’s hand tightly, a towel wrapped on their wrist, connecting them protectively. Tsukishima nods in his direction. Hinata clings to his arm as he nods back, turns and walks straight to the mess hall.

“Are we going to die, Kageyama?” A small voice asks beside him. Kageyama tightens his grip, clenches his teeth, and says, “Of course not. We’ll be okay. We’re going to grow old together, aren’t we? In Great Kepler. Or on any other planet. We’re not going to die.”

Eight minutes goes by and they are finally in the large lounge. Miwa captures them both in a hug, trembling, “Thank goodness, you’re both here.”

Yes, thank goodness, indeed. Kageyama hides his own tremble with a gritted frown. They sidle into the line that the engineers have finally managed. Varying emotions flitted across the occupants’ faces, the noises have significantly calmed down especially with the captain finally personally tending to the people, announcing minutes every once in a while.

Thirteen minutes passes.

Everyone seems to hold their breath, waiting. The spacecraft jostles dangerously and breaks the silence. A man in his mid-thirties grabs the captain’s collar and shouts at him in frustration, in fear. The officers around them grabs the man by the waist.

Fifteen minutes.

“NO! NO! NO! Please!”

Kageyama glances at the people behind them. Hinata peers as well and sees a child throwing a tantrum. It takes him half a step before Kageyama catches his hand, “What are you doing?”

“She’s too hysterical. She’ll faint at this rate.” Hinata explains.

“Leave her be. The rescue craft will soon arrive.”

“Please, Kageyama. Natsu looks the same age as her.”

One breath, two breaths, and then a quiet and defeated, “Fine.”

Hinata goes to the crying child, Kageyama is closely behind him. He wipes the fat tears falling down the sniffling child and asks, “What’s wrong?”

“My teddy… my teddy…”

“Your teddy?”

“She forgot her stuffed toy in her crib.”

“Can’t she just buy another one?” Kageyama snidely queries, never kind to children for all his life. Hinata nudges him, reprimanding. The woman shakes her head, “I believe that it’s a gift from her parents. She told me she’s an orphan, you see.”

Before Hinata can say something, Kageyama grips his hand, “No, Hinata.”

“Kageyama…” After a second, Hinata softens his tensed voice, “Tobio… please. We had to.”

“It’s none of our business!”

“It is now!”

“No!” Kageyama shouts, earning the attention of the people near them, “No! Don’t be absurd. Is that fucking teddy bear more important?”

“It’s not like that. You know that.” Hinata frowns, “I’ll be quick.”

Hinata’s eyes were clear. It has always been that way since the moment he met him by chance. Sunshine, sunflower, sun rises in the horizon—Kageyama wavers at the brightness, at the determination.

“Promise me you’ll come back.”

“You know I don’t break promises. Now go back to the line, I’ll meet you on the rescue ship so don’t worry.”

Hinata holds Kageyama’s hand and Kageyama squeezes it back, never wanting to let go if he is given a choice. He nods, leans and kisses Hinata.

Hinata turns to the woman, “Where is your crib?”

“Crib 7 in Aisle 3.” Hinata breathes in when he hears the distance. It’s close. He can make it. He shouts at Kageyama, “I’ll see you soon, Tobio.”

Kageyama watches Hinata’s back disappear into the empty hallway. It’s ten minutes before departure, he holds his breath and diminishes the prickle of anxiety he feels. Kageyama trusts Hinata more than anyone in the universe. If Hinata says that they’ll see each other soon, they will.

He catches himself from chewing his nails and brings it down to his side, foot tapping impatiently.

“The tube will be connected in two minutes.”

Kageyama watches the entrance anxiously. Hinata is probably in Crib 7 already, grabbing the stupid bear from the quarters and making a run towards them. The metallic door fizzles open but he stays put on the line even as people begin moving at the signal of the captain.

“Excuse me. Pardon me.” He keeps repeating as he bumps against the moving crowd, tiptoeing to see that ray of orange, _his_ ray of orange. The spacecraft wobbles once more.

“Excuse me, sir, please get in. You’re disrupting the order.”

“But I—”

“Please, sir. Or we will be required to use force to drag you in.”

“Come on, Tobio.” He almost forgets Miwa. She reaches gently, “Hinata will be back. He promised, didn’t he?”

Kageyama gives one last glance to the entrance, “His name is Hinata Shoyo. Please ensure that he boards the ship too. He’s my soulmate, you see.”

“Of course, sir.” The man smiles kindly at him.

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_Pinky promise, hope to die,_

_swallow a thousand needles if you lie._

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The rescue ship is much larger than their spacecraft that only contained a few hundreds. This one holds at least ten thousand people who were already used to the galactic life. Like the large lounge in their original ship, there is a holographic projection in the middle. On their seats, a small pager beeps green for each one to use.

Kageyama turns and turns and turns. There is no redhead around. But that’s okay. It will probably be a miracle to spot a small human amongst these interspecies mingling about even with their profound connection as soulmate. Even so, an ugly poisonous drizzle of doubt blooms in his chest. Kageyama frowns. _That can’t be. Of course not._

He leaves Miwa’s side and walks around to find a free seat. The one he finds is by a hideous looking creature who smiled at him. Kageyama nods politely and asks if the seat is free, the creature answers positively, patting the chair with his slimy hand. So now the seat is covered in green slime.

Kageyama ignores it in favor of acquiring access to an officer. He fumbles with the technology. The creature sighs, “You have to wave a hand on it to switch it on.”

“I see.” He does so then swivels curiously. The creature points to a chip attached to its throat, “Language transmitter.”

The holographic pager flickers on, a smiling woman flashing before him. The projected person speaks with a manual type of voice, “Welcome to Chimera Cruise Ship. What can we do for you?”

“Uhm. Hey.” Kageyama starts awkwardly, “I’m Kageyama Tobio. I was on the ship you rescued and I was wondering if Hinata Shoyo boarded this spacecraft too?”

“I’m sorry.” It was an immediate answer that Kageyama feels his stomach plummet, “I cannot answer that right now. The data has not yet been processed. If you want, I can connect you to the captain. Please wait a minute.”

 _Oh_. Kageyama takes a shaky breath.

The pager counts down from sixty to one before it shifts to an old man with a stern smile, “What can I do for you, sir?”

“Hinata Shoyo.” Kageyama articulates the name clearly in the hopes that the captain will immediately recognize the teen. The human captain tilts his head and blinks. Kageyama sighs, “I want to ask if Hinata Shoyo has boarded the ship.”

“I see. The data is still recounting but we cannot show it publicly yet. If you like, you can go to the cockpit so we can show it to you personally.”

Kageyama grabs the chance, his feelings growing darker and darker. He climbs the plated stairway towards the elevated platform where the cockpit is. He politely waits for the force field that separates it to open and enters as soon as one officer pulls the lever down.

“You are Sir Kageyama?” The human captain confirms to his co-pilot. The man spins in his chair and faces him, a green screen in front of him, “The data will be ready in three minutes. We are rechecking the rescued passengers’ data so we won’t miss a single one.”

Kageyama waits patiently, hands sweaty.

“Okay!” The man cheers, “Let’s see. Let’s see. Who were you looking for again, Sir Kageyama?”

“Hinata. Hinata Shoyo.” Kageyama says, his fingers digging too deeply into his palm and when a sting comes, he releases his fists, a line of blood dropping unto the floor.

“We had three Hinatas board us once, ya know.” The man presses multiple times into the green screen floating in front of him, a list of names appearing as he tells Kageyama, “It’s a common name for humans, eh?”

Kageyama does not entertain the remarks, tapping his foot, chewing on his bottom lip. His inside is churning, his breath is coming short, he can’t calm his left hand’s shaking. Kageyama swallows the rising bile in his throat.

“Ah, yes. Hinata Shoyo. Here he is.”

Hope. Hope. Hope. That’s all Kageyama is forcing himself to feel.

“He’s from District 36?”

“He’s new. He got left behind because their spacecraft wasn’t large enough to hold one more person.” What a stupid flaw, Kageyama thinks with all the spite in his body.

“Hmmm.” The man scrolls up and down and up again and then he frowns. It does not bode well, his little rise of pitch. Kageyama tenses, “What is it?”

“I checked his profile from the transferred file and compared it to the list of rescued passengers. It seems that he wasn’t able to board the—”

“Recheck it.”

“But sir, the data is complete and—a”

“Recheck it. There must be something amiss. He said he’ll be here. He promised me. _Recheck_ it.” _Please. Please. Please._ Kageyama takes a long hard breath to fill his lungs and his chest still constricted. The oxygen is not enough to keep him from feeling suffocated. The back of his head begins to pound in the same rate his heart is pulsating. There are dots forming in the corner of his eyes, his focus tunneling into black and then white, slipping in and out.

The man presses the refresh button on the top left corner with a tensed tight line on his lips, his eyes avoiding Kageyama as he says, “It will take another minute to reload and recalibrate the data. So…”

Kageyama nods and breaths and clenches his teeth. He tries to keep himself still but the rush of blood from his toes, from his fingers, to his brain is making it hard for him to think properly or balance himself. His knees are staggering. The green co-pilot hooks a tentacle around his arm to steady him.

“ _Ah_.”

Next to Hinata Shoyo’s name is a red X and Kageyama falls to his knees even with the support, the same high pitch tone enters his ears like a cruel dagger. _No. It can’t be. Of course not. Of course not. He promised. Hinata promised._

“Recheck it.” He thinks that’s what he demanded. He doesn’t know anymore. His voice is trembling too much that the vibration in his throat does not quite form coherence.

“I’m sorry. He did not make it to this ship, sir.”

Kageyama shakes his head over and over again until he feels dizzy. He is crying hideously and only notices his unraveling when the salty water mixes with the blood on his lips.

“What do you… what do you mean he did not make it?” He screeches hysterically. His head is pounding like drums being hit in a disarray rhythm. He feels cold and hot at the same time. Everything and everyone is too loud—too loud—too loud! _Shut up!_

 _“Shut up. Shut up. Shut up!” A high pitch yell pierces his ears._ Kageyama sobs, scratching his skin with his too sharp nails, raking into them as if the physical pain will stop the caving in his chest that steals his breath.

“It seems that…” The man’s voice wavers and Kageyama wails more, “…your friend was late or something. I’m really sorry, sir.”

Kageyama grabs his collar, “What will your fucking sorry do? Turn back this ship!”

“We can’t do that!” Kageyama stumbles back at the pull of the tentacles and remembers that they’re not the only two around. He spats, “Why can’t we do that? It’s easy, right? You just have to—you just have to—”

He dives forward to the captain seat but is stopped once more.

“Sir, please calm down!”

“NO!” He screams and screams and screams. The people beneath the cockpit turn to them curiously. Kageyama struggles against the constriction and turns around. Maybe, they were wrong. Maybe, the computer malfunctioned and did not read Hinata. Maybe, Hinata is below, eating the Tamago he saw by the buffet table.

Miwa is looking at him with tears in her eyes. He does not pay her any heed and sweeps his gaze around. Yamaguchi seems to be crying as Tsukishima holds him tight and what little sense that he has deduces that they might have heard his little cry. Faces. Faces. Faces. None of them sparks anything in his mind until a familiar blurry face of a child enters his vision and he feels vicious.

“YOU! It’s your fault! If you didn’t… he wouldn’t have…” He is incoherent but he is repeating it nonstop. Kageyama is livid. His chest is tightening tightly and his heart is expanding within him until it is jabbing itself in his ribs, breaking it apart until the blood explodes in his ears and he hears nothing but white noise, his mind is blanking out, and all he can see is a fading ray of orange in the corner of his eyes.

And then he pauses. His breath. His pulse. Every fiber that makes him. Kageyama turns to the pilots in the cockpit and kneels down 'til his head is touching the floor.

“Please turn it back. Please.”

“I’m sorry, we can’t.” The man answers weakly but his conviction is firm, “If we do… there’s no telling what will happen to us. We rushed to rescue you because we detected that your spacecraft was damaged heavily at the back where the energy generators were. We estimated that it will take around thirty minutes now before it explodes and we’re already too far to… to rescue your friend.”

“He’s not my friend!” He shouts pitifully, “Hinata is not just my friend. He’s my soulmate. He’s mine. I waited for him for fifteen years… I waited… so please…”

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” The man finally breaks. His companion pats him but shakes his head.

Kageyama does not lift his head from the floor, crying and wailing until there is a puddle of clear misery on the ground. He is pounding his fist until they are red and numb and busted open. A myriad of memories plaguing him like a sustenance he is deprived of. Hinata with his bright clear eyes like Kageyama is looking at the sun itself. Hinata with his beautiful smile like the rainbow he ever had the pleasure of reading on old picture books in Pod 17. Hinata with his small body underneath him, reaching towards him like he is reaching into the Milky Way. Hinata, the small universe stacks into one sunshine incarnate.

“Hinata is not a liar…” Kageyama declares over the loud noise—or was it just his breathing? He does not know. He can’t feel anything right. His hands go slack on him, and he can’t hear anything properly, can’t fully understand the circumstance he is in—perhaps, he did, he just doesn’t want to accept it, refuse to accept it.

Then, he jolts, “Hinata is not a liar. See? See?” He points to his wrist and forgets the entire concept of it, “His last words weren’t the one written here. See? So, please—please—please.”

“It’s too late, son.”

“It’s not… it’s not… please… Hinata…” Kageyama hangs his head.

“We can try to contact him.” The tentacled man offers with a voice that almost rivals his desperation. There’s nothing they can do anymore. One person versus thousands? Ethical dilemma always puts a person in a tight spot. One might think that it is an easy choice to make. But nothing is ever easy when a life is at stake.

“Is that okay, sir?”

Kageyama forces the air to enter his lungs, tries to say something but his throat gives up on him. He nods instead. And nods five times more.

The man presses something on the wide green screen under the thirty or so tiny silver ones in front of them. After a flurry of movements, there are static noises that baits everyone’s breath.

“Hello?” The captain greets unsurely, “Can you hear me? Is anyone there?”

Only when a voice so clear that it cuts the tension in the air that everyone can catch their breath. Kageyama scrambles to his feet.

“Hello? Uhm… do you hear me?”

“Hinata! _Fuck!_ Hinata, is this you?” Kageyama steals the microphone from the captain who hands it to him without qualms. He clutches it like it’s his last chance at living, like it’s the miracle he was waiting.

“Tobio?”

Hinata’s voice is tiny and Kageyama laps at it with every ounce of his body as if he has been parched for too long and only Hinata can save him from his miserable drought.

“Y-yeah. It’s me, Hinata. I—” Kageyama quells the hiccups that pestered out of his mouth, “It’s me. Hinata, you’re not in this ship, are you?”

Hinata pauses for a second and says, “It seems so. I… I was late. I mistook Aisle 4 for Aisle 3 and… and…”

“I know that I shouldn’t have let you go. Or that I should have been the one to get that stupid bear. If I did, you would have—”

“Don’t.” Hinata’s voice is firm that Kageyama can imagine him sporting a serious face, one that he wore when they were fighting over some volleyball match, “This is not your fault. It was mine. So, don’t.”

Silver drops begin to slide down wet cheeks once more. Kageyama curls into himself, plastered against the floor. The microphone is so close to his person that he can hear Hinata’s breath, hear his pulse, hear even the deepest of his thoughts.

“Wher—where are you right now?”

“In the lounge. It’s much bigger now that I’m the only one here.”

“I see.”

They fall silent. Even the people down below keep their words in their own tongue, afraid to break—the silence or the boy, they don’t know.

“We’re coming back to get you.” Kageyama says in a tone that falls flat in both their ears. Hinata chuckles and hums. The pilots snap around in haste but Kageyama shakes his head, his blue eyes telling them _don’t, please_.

“You will?”

“Yes. Why are you even asking that stupid question?” He provokes, “Didn’t we promise we’ll grow old together? You will have to dance with me on Saturn’s rings too and aren’t you going to sing for everyone to hear? And of course, we’ll do all those things together, right?”

“Because my dreams are your dreams too, right? Soulmate things.”

“Soulmate things.” Kageyama lets a small bubble of laughter at the phrase, imagining them in Pod 37, the machines singing in their whirring kind of way, Hinata pressing into his ears with his dreams and his hopes and his soulmate things.

“Tobio… you said you hate liars.” It was wretched to his ears, a damning drowning feeling like he is suddenly under the deepest part of the ocean but the ocean only spills down his eyes.

“I’m not lying.” Kageyama denies, “We’re just a little far away. But we will turn back. I swear. I promise. So, just… just close your eyes and sleep. You have that teddy bear, yeah? Hold it and pretend it’s me for awhile. I’m going to get you.”

Hinata lets a breathy laugh, an onomatopoeia of fondness and misery and useless hope that seeps so suddenly.

“Of course. Of course you would.”

Another quiet lapse in. Kageyama pretends that Hinata is breathing right beside him, pressing the microphone into his ears as if that would magically make Hinata appear. There’s static mixing through, a metal scrap falling. Kageyama bites his lower lip hard enough to let it bleed again.

“Hey, Tobio. I love you, you know that, right?”

“Yes. Yes. Yes.” He says in quick succession of breath, “I love you too. I do. So much, Hinata.”

“I’m really, really, really lucky to have you as my soulmate.” Hinata confesses like it is his last day—Kageyama trembles because it is, isn’t it?

“Hinata, you should really—”

“Sleep. I know. I will soon. Don’t worry.”

Kageyama closes his eyes.

“Five minutes.” The captain reminds sadly. Kageyama nods even though he does not hear him clearly, his attention solely for Hinata.

“We’re by Saturn’s ring already.”

“Oh? Is it pretty?”

“Yes.” Kageyama breaths out, “I—I like the song we danced to before. Not the samba one. The song that reminds me of you because of sunshine. Let’s dance to that when you get here.”

“It’s a really pretty song, isn’t it?”

“A bit sad but it’s pretty.”

It is fitting for this situation, Kageyama thinks bitterly.

More static. More jostling sound—metal curling with screeches. The crowd below murmurs something incoherent to Kageyama’s ears. In the corner of his eyes, the pilots take their hats off and press it to their chest.

Kageyama places his head on the cool metal wall and chuckles lowly, desperately. Hinata seems to absorb his voice as he hears him inhale on the other side.

“Will you promise me something, Tobio?”

“Anything. Anything for you.”

Finally, Hinata’s steady voice breaks, “Don’t forget about me. When you land on Great Kepler or somewhere else, remember me. Please.”

“I promise. Pinky promise.” Kageyama holds up his pinky in the air and curls it as if he is curling it around Hinata’s. He can feel Hinata smile.

“So, just… just sleep now, okay? I will be there soon.”

“Kageyama?”

“Yes?”

“I di—didn’t get to say this when we first meet but—”

Kageyama’s eyes widen and he tries to interrupt, “Hinata, don’t. Please don’t. It’s not yet time. Just sleep. Just—”

“It’s going to be okay, Tobio. And… and you can call me by my name now. So just let me say this important thing.”

“Shoyo. Shoyo. Shoyo.” He complies immediately, succumbing to every wish that Hinata wants, “I love you, Shoyo. Please, don’t leave me. I love you. I love you. I love you. Shoyo, please don’t leave me. Shoyo, I love you, I—”

Hinata pauses at the flurry of his words, smiles, and chuckles for a little while as if something caught his eye. There’s a waver in his voice, a sign of crying, Kageyama breaks a little bit more.

Finally when the crackling statics intensifies and a slow exploding sound echoed in the dead silence, Hinata’s clear beautiful voice rings in his ears and all Kageyama wants is to hear it one more time.

“It’s… it was really nice meeting you.”

.

.

Please don’t take my sunshine away

.

.

-Fin-

**Author's Note:**

> Hmmm. So, what do you think? Thank you for reading! Review and leave some kudos. Hehehe
> 
> *will re-edit for grammar and things soon


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